Why Bush is going to war

Bad reasons and scary reasons

A bad idea

It looks like we're going to war. And it looks like a bad idea

the risks are grave

the benefits are dubious

the costs are enormous

domestic support is soft

foreign opposition is overwhelming

If it's such a bad idea, you have to wonder, why are
we going to war? The short answer is that we're going to war because
George W. Bush wants to have a war. But that just begs the question, why
does Bush want a war?

Bad reasons

I think that Bush has reasons for wanting a war, in the sense that he
isn't acting from whimsy or caprice. In fact, I think that Bush's drive to
war is overdetermined: he has many reasons for wanting a war, and those
reasons overlap and interlock in complex ways.

If the American people actually understood this, they would object,
and it would be harder for Bush to get what he wants.
So it serves Bush to keep the voters distracted—for example, with a
foreign war.

a personal vendetta

Bush has made statements suggesting that he has some personal
animosity for Saddam Hussein. It's hard to understand why; I don't
believe he's ever met the man.

His father fought a war with Hussein; perhaps the son feels some
family obligation to pursue that conflict.

tribal politics

The Religious Right is one of Bush's largest and strongest
constituencies. He needs to maintain their support. And the politics
of the Religious Right aren't local, or ethnic, or national; they are
tribal.

Humans evolved in tribes; it is one our oldest and most basic forms of
social organization. Functionally, a tribe is a group of people united
for the common good. But psychologically, a tribe isn't held together
by its members' appreciation of their mutual self-interest.
Psychologically, a tribe is held together by fear of outsiders.

We are the one, the true, God's chosen people. Those
others, they are outsiders; they are dirty,
dangerous; they worship false gods; they will invade our territory,
kill our people, corrupt our youth. We must fight a holy war against
the infidels, etc, etc

Bush's Axis of Evil plays directly to the Religious Right. A War
Against Evil would be even better.

Scary reasons

These are reasons to fight a war, but they are bad reasons. In fact,
they are bad enough that they can't be the ultimate reasons. There
has to be some further explanation to account for why Bush is going
to war for such bad reasons. I can only think of two

He's a fool

He's a true believer

I don't think that Bush is stupid. Stupid people don't succeed at the
national political level. But I am starting to worry that he is a
fool, which isn't quite the same thing.

The bungling and then neglect of the North Korean problem support
this theory.

He's a true believer

Bush espouses a very black-and-white, good-versus-evil,
us-against-them view of the world. It is possible that this rhetoric
isn't just for the benefit of the Religious Right: he may really believe
it.

This is perhaps the scariest explanation. When you are a true
believer, no cost is too great; no risk unacceptable. How could it be,
when the ultimate triumph of Good over Evil is at stake?

News reports describe Bush as being calm under pressure; untroubled by
the momentous decisions that he faces. But why would he be troubled?
He knows he's right.

Notes

As I wrote the
book,
however, my utter disdain for Bush grew, as I recalled forgotten screw-ups and researched topics that hadn't crossed my radar screen. I grew to totally despise the man for his stupidity, cockiness, arrogance, ignorance, and general cluelessness.